1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermistor element which is used, for example, in a temperature sensor, and a manufacturing method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a thermistor element has been known in which end portions of a pair of electrode wires are embedded in a thermistor portion whose resistance value changes in response to temperature and which is composed of a conductive oxide sintered body (see Patent Document 1).
An example application of the thermistor element is a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of exhaust gas of an automobile. In this application, for example, there is a need to accurately detect a temperature in a wide temperature range of −40° C. to 1000° C.
In addition, the thermistor element is manufactured by: producing a molded product through press-forming with a mold; and baking the molded product. Thus, the manufacturing is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low. Therefore, the thermistor element has been widely used.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 5053563
3. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, as to the thermistor element, the thermistor portion is formed into a predetermined shape and then baked into a sintered body. Thus, there is a problem in that there is great variation in the resistance values of individual thermistor elements.
Moreover, there is no method for adjusting the resistance value of a thermistor element after the thermistor element is manufactured through baking. Thus, the development of a technique of adjusting the resistance value has been desired.